Kin to the Turks
by HeraldHealer
Summary: What if Reno had a sister? What if there were more types of Ancients than the Cetra? What if Reno's sister was one of them? Great hilarity results. New and Improved Version! Compleated
1. More Ancients!

AN: This is a rewrite of my original story Kin to the Turks. I thought my characters deserved better than second person point of view and guess what? They agreed with me on that. Lets see if my writing style hasn't improved a bit in the past few years. Also just to make sure things are clear of what's actually being said.

"Speech"

_Thinking_

'_Telepathic Speech'_

BEEP bee bep! The lanky red head pushed herself out of bed, and hit her alarm clock to make the darn thing shut up. Squinting at it she debated getting up. "Oh why not," she muttered around a yawn as she shrugged out of her cocoon of blankets. "It's the last day of school anyways may as well bring the game cube and some of the party games." After all it would be her last chance to hang out for a while now that exams were done.

She staggered toward the bathroom, picking her way around the clutter in the hall, swearing as Rae tripped over her unconscious brother; Reno only rolled over and muttered something about another beer. She shucked her p.j.'s and stepped into the shower. As she turned on the steaming hot water she sighed "Bro could ya at least try to make it to the couch."

Ten minuets later Rae emerged fully dressed in a pair Reno's old ie pre-Turk cargo pants and a red tank top. Toweling her short shag of hair she walked into the kitchen and looked at the microwave clock. "Crap no time to cook," she swore as she grabbed a scrambled egg bagel and stuck it in the microwave. "And that is why the great genius Rae makes ready to heat breakfast sandwiches," she said as she sprinted to her room jumping the passed out Turk like a hurdle. She wasted no time throwing her game system and a couple of games and controllers into her back pack or shoving her feet into socks and boots.

"See you bro," she told Reno's prone form as she dropped her wet towel on him in a vain attempt to wake him up. With that she shot to the kitchen grabbed a bottle of juice and the bagel as the microwave dinged and headed for the door.

She opened the door right as her brothers boss was about to knock. Rae felt her eyes widen before she blinked. Tseng was one of the few people she never antagonized. There was just something about him. Of course, the fact that he headed a group of bodyguards, spies and assassins explained why.

"Reno" he snapped in annoyance at her red hair. He blinked then shifted his gaze slightly downward. "Raelin," he said in even cultured tones, "Do you know your brothers whereabouts?"

"Passed out piss drunk in front of the bathroom, sir," Rae replied stepping back to allow him and his blond partner in.

"Figures," Elena muttered as Rae took off out the door. "The one that isn't a Turk is the respectful one."

"That's because she hasn't lost her fear of me yet," Tseng replied. Rae overheard that last comment as she sprinted down the hall to the stairs. _And he bless Elondari, has no way of knowing why._ She thought.

****

Reno woke up with a start as Elena dumped a glass of ice water in his face. He shot up and swore when he saw Elena. "What the hell was that for!?"

"To wake you up, baka," Elena replied coldly. "Or did you forget that there's a briefing this morning?"

"Shit!" Reno cursed and sprang up and hurried to find clean, or at least cleaner, clothes.

Forty minutes later the Turks stood assembled in front of grave looking Rufus Shin-ra. "The Science Department has come to a surprising conclusion," Rufus said. "There seem to be more Ancients."

"Dose that mean you want us to capture them?" Elena asked. Tseng shot her a look and she winced for talking out of turn.

"Not this time," Rufus replied almost smiled. "I suspect Cloud and his friends would hamper our efforts on principle." He shook his head, "Anyways I didn't say they Recently translated documents say that there were three types of Ancients. First, Ka Roã warriors or guardians, there weren't many of them and we believe they were among the first to succumb to Jenova's virus. You will remember the Cetra of course. There was a rare third type, Ketroã who had powers like both. From the information that has been deciphered says that they were great healers and powerful fighters. The last of them joined the surviving Cetra and were instrumental in sealing Jenova. Their abilities differ from the Cetra in that they are as connected to humans as they are to the planet. And they appeared to have developed some sort of immunity to the virus Jenova wiped the Cetra out with. The DNA markers that were found in the documents show that a great portion of the human population is partly Ketroã. In Midgar there are three young women who may be full Ketroã. I want you to observe them. We need their help in cleansing Jenova from the planet. With Kadaj's gang running around, I don't want to take anymore chances." He handed Tseng a folder with a picture paper-clipped to the front. Tseng blinked, rolled his eyes heavenward in a silent plea to the gods for patience and passed the file to Reno.

Reno took one look at the picture and blanched. "I don't believe this," he muttered. "and if she's a then dose that make me…" he muttered.

"No," Rufus said firmly. "You DNA is on file, you are not Ketroa, at least not recognizable so. Not all the women in the picture are Ketroa: the one with the odd dress sense is very unlikely base on the information we have now, likely most of the other three are the same as she is. I need you to rule out the non Ketroa. If we are lucky we may have one in the group."

"What do you want us to do when we sort out the Ketroa, from the normal girls?" Elena asked.

"Nothing, immediately, just keep them under observation, unless Kadaj and his crew attacks any of the girls," Rufus told her emphatically. "Although that could be a good indicator of which ones are Ketroa and which ones aren't. If Kadaj's gang attacks any of them take them to Healin immediately." Rufus glanced at his hand suppressing a stab of pain from the Geostigma before adding: "As much as I would like have to the Ketroa under Shinra protection I can't afford to antagonize any Healers at the moment."

****

Rae sprinted out of the school, and jumped down front steps kicking her heals in the air and whooping loudly. "I'm free!" she shouted. "Bye-Bye High School!"

"Easy for you to say, Rae," Niki, the tie wearing goth/punk/chick retorted. "I have to come back next year."

"Hey, at least you'll probably be the captain of next year's kick-boxing team." Lea, fellow emancipated senior, consoled her. Fair skinned and of medium height, she kept her medium brown hair just long enough to get it all back into a ponytail.

"As long as Mom's not being-" Niki clawed the air and hissed like cat, "-and keeps me off the team because of grades Humphries' class."

"Don't worry," Liz told her. "Humphries doesn't teach junior classes." She pointed to woman standing impatiently beside a car, "Speaking of mothers, yours is right there."

"Crud, I got to go" Niki cried as she sprinted to her mom's car.

"What do you guys want to do?" Rae asked Liz and Lea. "Me, I want to celebrate, but I will bow to your wishes."

"Rae, bow to someone else's wishes? Am I hearing this?" Liz asked Lea violet eyes sparkling as she adjusted the bobby pins that kept her mane of straight dark chocolate hair out of her face.

"Oh, she'll bow to our wishes," Lea replied sardonically. "She never said she would do so gracefully."

"Would I do that?" Rae asked innocently.

"Do you want the list alphabetically or chronologically?" Lea teased.

"Of course we want of celebrate, you nut," Liz told her. "We're graduates, Alumni. Now me I' craving something sweet."

"How about that place by your apartment, Rae," Lea suggested. "You know the desert bar."

"Oh you mean, Death By Chocolate," Rae said casual as visions of tempting deserts danced enticingly through her head. "Sounds like a plan to me. Only let me stop by my house first and put down my bag."

"Sure," Liz said. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder if you can die from eating chocolate?" she mused

"Then we will die happy women," Rae reply already grinning at the thought.

****

Several hours later the three friends were happily ensconced in a booth at Death By Chocolate. Liz had ordered a Super Maple Butter-nut Blondie, and left it at that. But Rae and Lea were trying with out success to induce death by chocolate. The waiter on the other hand was dumbfounded by the amount of food the two of them were putting away. Rae was willing to bet that he thought the two of them had just run a marathon.

"You two are going to be so hyper after this." Liz sighed. "You're lucky that you were born with ironclad stomachs, and metabolisms that could out run the Highwind."

"You sound like my mom," Lea replied as she finished a plate of Chocolate Nachos.

"I think we need to leave while we can still pay the tab," Rae pointed out. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising, a sure sign that something was out of kilter

"I think that's all for today," She told the waiter. When he handed each of them their tabs, Rae and Lea let out long low whistles as they dug out their wallets. All in all together the two of them had devoured 10,000gil worth of chocolate. After you all paid, and were leaving a handsome tip for the waiter, Liz turned to the other girls and whispered "I think we're being watched."

"What makes you say that?" Lea asked trying to hide her heightened alertness.

"I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising," she replied. Lowering her voice further she murmured "I think we'd best get our gear and weapons and start our annual hiking trip early. I've got a really bad feeling."

_'Me to,'_ Michelle thought at you and Kate. _'I think we'd better get home well before dark.'_

_'My place,__'_ Rae thought firmly, _'it's closest. And they'd be mad to try to break into a Turk's apartment.'_

For all their vigilance the girls failed to notice Tseng and Elena in a booth in a far corner. The two of them were careful not to rise and catch the attention of the girls as they were leaving.


	2. Hojo's Dead, ain't he

"At least we ruled out the first one, yo." Reno sighed. "She's totally normal."

Rude looked at him for a few seconds the then asked "Totally Normal?"

"She's no Ketroa, anyways. Her fashion sense doesn't count, yo," Reno replied, taking a swig of beer. "If the other three stick together tracking them's going to be a bitch. And my damn flat's wired for sound."

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Tseng asked him. "If you have any qualms about tracking your younger sister you can be placed on another assignment."

"No," Reno replied carelessly, "Hojo's dead, ain't he. She'll be pretty safe from mad scientists now that he's bought it and she can bring down most anything else. The problem is she recognizes us and she knows if the Turks are looking for you it's not a good idea to stick around to find out why. And the other two are friends of hers: if she guesses something's up she'll haul it out to some godforsaken bit of nowhere and take the other two with her."

"Start with what you know about Rae," Elena said shortly. "All we have to do right now is keep an eye on her and the other two. Unless Kadaj attacks them and they need rescuing."

"Hmm, well she's stubborn as a mule, kicks like a goddamn mule when you piss her off, and she's a big time jock, captain of the track, cross-country, and kickboxing teams, all that kinda crap. Oh yeah, she likes to party and holds her liquor pretty well. Did I mention that she kick-boxes?" he winced remembering a few well placed kick from his last sparing session with her, and then continued. "She's a smart kid and good at telling which way the wind's blowing. All in all she'd probably make a good Turk, if she were less warm hearted."

Tseng scowled deep in thought then said, "Reno, you and Rude act normal around your sister: I don't want to her be alerted. Don't do any thing you wouldn't normally do. Elena and I will focus on trailing the other two. All our observations of them are inconclusive. Runners are infamous for high metabolism."

****

Liz and Lea decided in the end to spend the night with Rae. Both for the safety of numbers, and so that they celebrate the end of school, properly. Rae woke up around 9:30 and stumbled to the bathroom as Liz stepped out of it toweling her hair dry. Lea sprawled out on the couch snoring strongly. Rae showered quickly to leave some hot water for her. As she showered she tried to remember the weird dream she had had the night before around the monster of a head ache she woke up with. "What got you out of bed so early?" Rae asked Liz as she emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of fatigues and a black t-shirt.

"I'm surprised I didn't wake you up when I did," she replied as she drained the bacon grease out of the pan and began to crack eggs in to it. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans and a 'I'm a Ninja (You can't see me)' tank top, which Rae swore had come from her closet. "I woke up screaming from a nightmare." She continued as she stirred the eggs

"Must have been some dream to get you worked up. You sleep pretty soundly." Rae commented as she grabbed a bottle of Tylenol, and swallowed two pills.

"It was weird," she shuddered. "And I woke up with a god-awful headache that doesn't want to go away. Pass me that Tylenol, please."

"Me too, the headache anyways I don't remember what I dreamed except that it was weird as all get out and it scared the living hell out of me." She watched as the smell of food slowly began to waken the sleeping Lea.

"Oh my aching head, and blazes was that dream creepy," Lea moaned as she rose from the couch. Rae tossed the bottle of Tylenol at her. "You're not the only one," Rae told her as she caught the bottle an inch from her nose and took two. "

"So, Liz, what was your nightmare about," Rae asked slightly flippantly to allay her rising uneasiness, "Backstreet and N'SYNC having a major comeback and taking over the TV and radio stations?"

"Even scarier," she said. "There was a man looking for me. Really powerful and dangerous and I didn't want him to find me. I shrank down and he didn't see me. He was calling me, searching with his mind and it was all I could do to not announce my presence to him."

"That doesn't sound too bad, just standard nightmare," Lea commented. "So what did this mystery man look like?"

"Tall, dressed in black leather, long silver hair, longer than mine. He had glowing emerald eyes. The best way I can describe him is as sexy as sin and scary as Hell. No, well that's that true to but honestly if he hadn't died seven years ago I'd have said it looked like the Great Hero of the War. I think that was more than a dream. I think it was real, and if we use our powers He'll find us, whoever and what ever he is."

"I'd like to say you're being paranoid but I have a really bad feeling, and I want to be off." Rae said as she strapped on her sheathed dirks. Lea nodded and grunted in agreement. You strap on your dirks and stand. "After we eat breakfast, why don't you guys pick up your camping gear? We'll say bye to Tiffa, then leave Edge and hike out to Junon.

****

"… Tall, dressed in black leather, long silver hair, longer than mine. He had glowing emerald eyes… if we use our powers He'll find us," crackled over the tape. Tseng listened intently then removed his head set. "All three of them? This could be problematic. This should be reported to Mr. President."

About an hour later

"I see," Rufus muttered as Tseng finished his report. "This makes things more interesting. Shadow them as closely as possible without causing them to bolt."

"Sir," Reno asked, "since they plan on going to Tifa's Seventh Heaven, don't you think Rude and I should go drunk there? That way we can observe the Ketroa."

"Reno!" Elena reprimanded. "Is this just a ploy to drink on the job and get the company to pay your bar tab?"

"Hey, would I do something like that," Reno asked innocently

Rufus looked thoughtful for a second then answered "Yes, you would. Oh, go ahead put the tab on the expense account. Only, Reno, Rude, remember that the two of you are on duty."

Your POV

Rae blinked a few times to clear your head. She looked at the Strawberry Daiquiri in her hands and smiled. _I wonder if bro realizes Tiffa won't put rum in our drinks till we're 21_, she thought as she watch Reno walk in the door with his partner. _Odd I didn't think he had today off. I know he didn't have today off; this is getting fishy._

"That is one sexy man," Liz commented appreciatively following Reno with her eyes. To Rae's horror Reno cocked his head toward the table they were sitting at, but he didn't greet his sister either.

"That," Rae replied emphatically, "is my big brother! Liz, you stay away from him! You are way too innocent to date him and too young: he's ten years older than I am. He'd break your heart and wouldn't realize it. And he's been going steady with this chick for years now."

"I know," Liz sighed, "but I have no boyfriend and no prospects. You know it takes more than just a sexy man to impress me. I've known enough good looking assholes and idiots in middle school, and high school. But I'm a woman, I notice these things."

"He is good looking," Lea agreed, "and he's the only guy I've ever seen look good with a mullet. But date him, God No! Just, it's depressing when you've scared off all the guys at school." Reno deflated, and Tiffa giggled at the look of rejection on his face.

"What brings you guys here?" Tiffa asked curiously as Rude and Reno sunk onto bar stools.

"To drink, after all, Seventh Heaven's the best bar in town," Reno countered.

Tiffa laughed good naturedly, "Flattery will get you two nowhere."

"It's not flattery, it's the truth," Reno shot back

Rae spotted a faint flush of color creep up the usually stone-faced Rude's cheeks. "Defiantly truth," he added. Tifa gave them a look. Rae, Lea and Liz recognized it from kick-boxing season, the one when Tiffa gave her students when thought someone wasn't telling her the whole story. _I wonder if Rude doesn't have a crush on Tifa,_ Rae thought idly. After Reno and Rude ordered their beers, Rae decided that a little revenge for not greeting her was in order. She loudly blurted out her romantic woes to the distinctly un-crowded bar.

"You two think you have it bad," Rae wail melodramatically. "At least you and Liz look like girls. Let's be honest here: to call my figure willowy is an act of great charity. I have _very_ narrow curves and I never left the Astoundingly Amazings."

"That's what socks are for," Kate replied deadpan; she had never left the Awesomes and like you refused to pad.

"Or TP," Michelle added watching the two Turks out of the corner of her eye as she cracked up

As three girls laughed, Rae caught a look of comprehension then horror cross your brother's face. She couldn't tell if the horror was from hearing his little sister's girl talk or the thought of using socks and toilet paper for padding when they make so many special bras to solve the problem.

"So, do you know how many professional models would kill for a body like yours?" Lea tried to console Rae.

"The Twiggy models are all dying of anorexia. They don't count. Anyways I'm too tall and buff to be a Twiggy type." Lea and Liz both deflated unable to counter your argument. Now time for the coup de grass. "Do you know why I stopped wearing baggy cloths?" Rae hissed in a stage whisper that carried all the way across the bar. "It's because gay men started to hit on me!" Tifa winced sympathetically. Rude jerked up in his seat while Reno snorted beer out his nostrils and fell out of his chair. "Not 'you look gorgeous darling' but seriously hitting on me like I was a man. That's why I cut my hair and wear tight shirts and tanks and fitted tops when I'm forced to dress up." Rae sighed deeply then got up and hoisted her back pack up. "How much do we owe you, coach," Liz asked Tiffa.

"Nothing," Tiffa told the girls, "think of it as a graduation gift."

"Coach?" Reno asked you as she turn to leave.

"Didn't I tell you, bro?" Rae asked him. "Tifa was one of our kick boxing coaches."

"We won the Gaia tournament," Lea added smugly "See you in a few weeks," she told Tiffa..

Liz sighed, "That's probably the real reason none of us have boyfriends. Bye Coach!"

"Bye Tiffa, see you around, Reno, take care of yourself." Rae called as she walked out the door.


	3. Big Brother is Watching

The hair on the back of Rae's neck stood on end as she walked out of Seventh Heaven. She could feel the tension radiating off of Liz and Lea. She cocked your head at them afraid to use telepathy. Liz's nightmare struck a cord with the dream that haunted the back of her mind. Liz and Lea both nodded in agreement.

"I think we're being followed," Lea commented Soto voice. Then she said in normal tones, "I think you just traumatized your big brother."

Rae nodded at both of her statements and forced a laugh. "Hey, turnabout's fair play. I spent the most impressionable years of my life around him as a teenager. I learned things I never wanted to know. I didn't expect him to fall out of his chair, though." The three girls continued to joke about Reno and their little brothers as they approached the apartment Rae shared with Reno where the three of you stowed your stuff. It wasn't the first scare the three of them had had with being followed. The only thing to do was to brazen it out and act normal until suspicion of being anything other than normal had passed.

"Good grief," Lea laughed. "Rae, you and Reno could set up shop as a stand-up comedy routine. What the--" she was cut off by a bullet that whizzed by her ear. There it was right, the shoe finally dropped.

Rae silently thanked the Elondari and her consort that they had left their packs at her house as she drew her dirks. Lea dropped into a fighting stance as Liz moving with uncanny speed grabbed the glave she had slung across her back and brought the blade of the spear up to deflect the another bullet. "Show yourself," she snarled at the abandoned ally. _Not good,_ Rae thought, _only one way out and their between us and it_ "We felt you all the way back outside Tifa's Seventh Heaven."

Three silver haired men stepped out of the ally cutting the off the escape route. They all had weird eyes--cat slit pupils edged in green the rest of the iris light blue--black leather suits, and identical motorcycles. "Egads," Lea hissed out of their hearing, "we're being stalked by demon boy-band clones." The one on the left wore his hair long, about a third of the way down his back, and held a gun blade leveled at Liz. The one on the right had the greaser look with sideburns going, bulkier that the other two and a weird looking device on his arm. Rae thought it might be a tazer that could double as shield. The one in the center kept his hair cut at shoulder level and wore a sword belt.

"Where is Mother?" the man in the center demanded stepping off his bike and drawing a katana with two parallel blades. "You must help us find Mother," the man with the gun blade added taking a step toward the young women. "Yeah, where's mother?" the bad hair day echoed, stopping short as he caught sight of Rae. He gave her the once over, twice, then looked her directly in the eyes and entreated, "You are the most beautiful woman in the world. Marry me."

Every one in the ally looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Loz!" the one on the left snapped, "We're not here to proposition them!" "He proposed to her," the one in the center corrected, "propositioning her would be something quite different," he sounded like a man who didn't believe what he just heard.

Rae cast a puzzled glance down at her body, checking to make certain that feminine curves hadn't decided to manifest since she last checked. Looking up Rae asked the obvious leader the first think that came to mind "Is he alright? Is he running a fever or has he taken a blow to the head?"

"He must have," the long haired muttered. He and the bad hair day separated themselves from the leader to give each other room to move

"Who are you people?" Lea asked pulling on gloves. She stepped to the side followed by Rae who took a few steps forward.

"Oh I'm sorry," the man in the center drawled as the men slowly approached the friends. Liz and Rae moved away from eachother to open their distances. "I forgot to introduce us, how rude of me. I am Kadaj and these are my brothers Yazoo and Loz," They sprung toward you as soon as he finished speaking. The girls were ready for the charge.

Lea rushed behind Loz and kicked him into the wall as Liz brought the glave up to parry more bullets. Rae blocked Kadaj's slash with her left hand dirk and kick him in the chest. His twin blade katana had longer reach than her twin long dirks but she used both blades at the same time. One dirk she used as a shield, attacking with the other blade. All the while randomly changing from a left handed to right handed stance. Still she spent more time dodging than attacking. The good thing was that while Rae wasn't able to cut Kadaj the flip side of the coin was also true.

Kadaj's face twisted into a scowl as he realized that his opponent had no problem keeping up with him even as he increased speed. "How did you get this strong?" He demanded as launched an attack that forced you to bring both of your dirks up to block it. "I eat my vegetables every night," Rae replied lightly. It was a complete lie she hated veggies and avoided them when she could. Charging forward she caught Kadaj off guard and forced him back on the defense.

Guided by some half sensed foresight Rae broke off her attack and dogged sideways. Lea soared through the space she occupied a fraction of a second earlier

*************

Reno swore with Cid worthy creatively as he watched his sister's crew fight with the silver haired men. "Should we intervene Tseng-sempai?" Elena asked.

"I think not," Tseng replied watching the battle from the roof above. "The fight's too close. If we interfere and break the girls' concentration, Kadaj and his gang will be able to carry at least one of them off. We can't afford to let them find It."

"Damn it!!" Reno punched the wall so hard that a flower pot jumped and skittered off the edge, falling into the ally below. "Aw, crap," he swore as he watched the plant land. "Baka," Rude muttered.

*******************

Lea lashed out catching Yazoo hard in the shin with the butt of her glave; he winced in pain, stumbling as his leg gave out. "You'll regret this," he hissed at Kate, leveling his gun-blade at her forehead as she moved to decapitate. "Maybe," she replied coolly stopping the blade less an inch from his throat. "But don't forget where the blade of my glave is. Even if you do manage to pull that trigger, you'll still make me a fine escort to Valhalla."

"How did you get so fast?" Yazoo demanded. "I eat my vegetables," she said deadpan.

"Just what kind of vegetables do you ladies eat?" Loz asked staggering back after Lea head butted him with a resounding crack.

"Ye Gads, what kind of metal is your skull lined with?" Michelle groaned charging forward to attack. At the worst possible moment, a potted plant crashed out of the sky and hit Lea in the back of the head. Loz took advantage of her momentary distraction and landed a full power shock from his tazer. Lea doubled over in pain and Loz grabbed her by the hair, pulled her up and held the weapon to her throat.

As soon as Rae saw the plant hit she decided to take a gamble. Calling on her full strength and speed, she rushed behind Kadaj, bring herself in striking range. He slashed at her; she deliberately took the hit, a deep cut across your left shoulder. Fast as snakebite she danced behind him with her right hand dirk pressed hard against his throat. "Stalemate," Kadaj spat.

"Oh hush," you snorted, disgusted with the affair. "I ain't happier about this than you are."

"Well done, Rae," Liz murmured with out taking her eyes off Yazoo's.

"Well are you willing to keep a truce?" Rae asked Kadaj as she felt hot blood stream down her arm. The wound hadn't started to hurt yet. That meant he kept his sword razor sharp

"Of course we are," Kadaj replied smoothly as the first stab of pain exploded right on time down Rae's arm. Gritting her teeth Rae keep hold of the second dirk in spite of pain. She could feel the lie plainly in his voice.

"B.S.," Liz spat loudly. "Pull the other one, it's got bells on it," Lea muttered coming around. "You three resemble the man in my nightmare last night and your auras are similar to his," Liz continued derisively. "Why should we trust you?"

Yazoo's eyes widened in awe. "You saw Sephiroth?" he asked incredulously. A reflection of the scene was visible to Rae and Kadaj through a curtained window. Rae saw his eyes narrow, and then a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He looked at your reflection in the window then broke into a disquieting grin. "Loz, let her go," Kadaj commanded. "But Kadaj, you said that--" Loz began. "Things have changed, brothers. We'll let big brother work on them for a while. Now put lower your weapons." Reluctantly Loz released Lea who walked toward you muttering "I'll remember this." Yazoo lowered his gun-blade to his side giving Kate the evil eye.

"Have your friend let my brother up," Kadaj told Rae. Obviously, he must have though that she was in charge of the group of friends. "We'll leave quietly." This time the statement range with truth.

"You're telling the truth, for a wonder," Liz said to Kadaj removing her glave from Yazoo's throat. Yazoo rises and limps off "I will not forget this," he told her darkly.

"You skill is as I expected," Kadaj told you as you removed your dirk from his neck. He and his brothers mounted their bikes. As they drove off he called "We'll look forward to seeing you again." The three boy-band clones waved cheerfully behind them as they pulled around a corner.

Liz limped toward Rae and Michelle using her glave as a crutch. "Bloody, Bloody Hell," Rae whispered shocked. "Let's get to your place," Lea said after a moment's silence. "If Liz's mom or mine sees us they'll have conniption fits.

"It's too damn late to get out of town," Liz swore. "Your house is safer than anyplace else I can think of, Rae." Rae and Lea were shocked by what they just heard, Liz never swears out loud.


	4. Overhanded Underhanded

Pain lanced down Rae's shoulder, following the blood that flowed from wound. "I need to stop this bleeding," she muttered as she sheathed dirks, ignoring the pain the movement caused. "Liz, what's wrong with your leg," she asked as her friend limped toward her and Lea. Liz leaned heavily on her glaive and as soon as the brothers disappeared she held the leg up in the air.

"It feels like a bad sprain," she answered through gritted teeth as Lea moved to support her. "Good thing your apartment building is close, though, Rae."

"How on earth did you bust your ankle in the first place?" Lea asked her as the three of young women set out to Rae's apartment. Even with the risk of running into the red haired Turk, or potentially his steady sweetie, it was still the safest place they could think of. If it wasn't for the kids Tiffa and Cloud had adopted, they would have gone back to Seventh Heaven. At least back at the apartment there weren't likely to be any civilians around if things got worse.

"I landed on it wrong when I was dodging a spray of bullets. I was high on adrenaline and I didn't dare show weakness," Liz replied turning very white. "Ooh, let's not talk more till we get to Rae's apartment."

Mercifully they didn't run into Kadaj and his crew again. The few people on the street stopped and stared at the group. It was a goo thing that the Shinra were no longer in power, two years ago the three of them probably would have been arrested on principle, for looking like you were in Avalanche. When they reached the apartment clothing was strewn with clothing. Rae guessed that it was dirty but with Reno it was hard to tell the clean stuff from the dirty sometimes. As she locked and bolted the door, Liz collapsed on the couch and took off her shoe, shifting a pile of boxers off the couch with the TV remote.

"Ye Lord and Lady, my brother is such a slob," Rae muttered totally exasperated and disgusted with the mess. Although she didn't like to clean, and rarely did so except for the kitchen and bathroom, she did have some limits. Lea brought the first-aid kit out from the kitchen where it was mounted on the wall.

"Good grief, this thing weighs a metric ton. Do you keep a spare doctor's office in here?" she asked Rae as she carried it out in to the living room.

"No," She laughed, "Just every thing in the doctor's office except for controlled substances, unfortunately. Liz, you look like you could use some good painkillers. Ah, the benefits of Bro's profession, a well stocked first-aid box and the knowledge of how to use it."

"Tell me about it," Liz replied as she downed four Motrin, as Lea deftly bandaged her ankle, and applied the break-and-shake cold pack. In the meanwhile, Rae was attempting to apply pressure to the twin gashes on her arm to stop the bleeding. Rae grimaced in pain, "Are you sure we shouldn't use our powers? I mean, we heal with unnatural speed as it is. I know for a fact you could will your foot better in the blink of an eye. And this really needs to stop bleeding, its way to deep." Rae grabbed some clean rags out of the bottom of the cupboard and tied them on overtop to the soaked gauze.

"Very," she replied. "After what Kadaj said, I really don't want that dream figure to find me. It took nearly all of my energy to evade him last night. I don't have the strength to do heal me and block him. The sprain will heal fully in three days anyways; who am I to tempt Fate?"

"Good point," Lea conceded.

Simultaneously a premonition and an idea hit Rae. Moving as quickly as your arm allowed she rigged a booby trap above her own front door. "What in heaven's name are you doing?" Lea asked her. "Getting even with my brother," She replied grinning wickedly. "He's coming so just let me do the talking. I'm pretty sure I can come up with a convincing story. Just nod and look pretty."

"Well hold still," Liz told you. "Lea please get me a bowl of warm water and some clean cloths, I'll clean your wound, Rae."

**********

"Well, Home sweet home," Reno drawled sarcastically. "Yep, kid locked the door." He stuck his hand into his pocket searching for his key. Then he franticly began to pat all of his pockets. "Damn, guess I'll just have to pick the locks." He pulled out a set of lock picks." He looked at his coworkers sheepishly. "Get comfortable, this is going to take a while. I made sure that the locks on the door were hard ones and that the door and the door frame were reinforced with steel."

Rude tapped his partner on the shoulder and handed him the spare set of keys. "This might work better, partner."

Reno flushed. He put away his lock picks, grinning sheepishly. "Um yeah that would, thanks." Elena sighed holding her face in hand as Reno replaced his lock picks, and pulled out his own house key from the original pocket. He tossed the extra house key back to Rude then unlocked and unbolted the door. No sooner than he had crossed the threshold, a pile of his dirty boxer shorts dropped unceremoniously onto his head.

"Hey what was that for, yo?!" he called out his face a mask of outraged indignation, as smothered female laughter drifted from the other side of the door way. "Seriously, Rae," he sounded more annoyed than angry. There were times that he wished that the girl was less like him or more like him. Right now it was less.

*************

Rae stifled a grin when she saw that he brother wasn't alone like she thought he would be and replied, "That was for leaving your dirty laundry scattered all over the place, Reno." _This is just wonderful. The last thing I need is for all of the Turks poking into my business right now_. "So what brings you to these parts this time of day, oh brother dear?" she asked. "I thought you were at Seventh Heaven, getting an early start."

"Yeah, well, Sis, what you said earlier made me sober, yo," he replied. "Thanks a lot," he drawled sarcastically, "I was just dying to find out that gay men hit on my favorite little sister."

"Be fair, to your brother, Rae," Liz teased gently. "That only happened once. And the poor guy was so drunk he couldn't see straight."

"Reno I'm your only sister, hell your only family for that matter," Rae told her brother. "I know you can't tell me what in the Fury's up that has all of the Turks retreating here at midday. Is it bad enough that I need to skip town and lay low for a while, or are we stuck in here with you for the duration?"

"Hey, cuts down on competition for the top spot, yo. And what happened to you." Reno shrugged as he walked over to his sister. The rest of the Turks strode into the apartment. Tseng came in last, locking and bolting the door behind him.

"You think this is bad," Rae replied flippantly, "you should have seen the other guy. Don't worry this is just a scratch," It was a scratch, just a very deep one. Reno obviously wasn't buying it. He griped the makeshift bandage lightly but it was hard enough that Rae nearly flinched out of his grip. "That's more than just a scratch, yo. Sit down and let me take a look at it." He firmly steered her to a chair.

"Hey Rae, what in the heck's this," Lea asked tossing something tiny to Rae as she walked out of the kitchen carrying a mixing bowl full of warm water. "I founded it in the mixing bowl." Rude shifted uncomfortably and coughed, Tseng and Elena's eyes went narrow and Reno tried to look innocent as he snagged the thingie.

Rae looked up sweetly at her older brother as he pushed her down on to the lazy boy. "Now Bro, why would you want to bug your own house?" She swatted him away from her and stood up forcing him back ignoring the fact that the cut burnt like fire. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Tseng had gone to stand behind Liz and that Rude and Elena were flanking Lea. "Reno, what the fuck is going on!?" she demanded, angrily hand on her dirk ready to draw.

"I'll have to ask that you come with us," Tseng ordered ominously. Liz leapt to her feet glave in hand, her face going a whiter shade of pale. "You're injured," he told Liz calmly. "Sit back down and take your weight off that ankle. There is no need for you to cause yourself unnecessary pain."

"I'll endure," Liz spat around clenched teeth. "Why should we come with you?" Of all of the girls she was the least suited for fighting in such a confined space.

"Our orders are to bring you three in by any means possible if you were attacked by Kadaj's gang," Elena told her. "You should really sit down. You're not helping that ankle any by putting weight on."

Reno brought out his electro-mag rod. "Rae," he entreated, "Rae, I don't want to have to hurt you, but business is business. And right now your safety is business as well as personal. If I gotta fight you to keep you safe I will, yo."

"Oh, you can try," Lea drawled a wicked smile on her lips. "You might even succeed. But I can pretty much guarantee that everyone in the room will be needing to go to the ER including me, if you do try."

"Your orders are to bring the three of us in by anyway you can, right?" Liz asked Rude. He nodded and grunted an affirmative. "Now telling us what in heaven's name is going on is included in any means possible if you take a strict literarily approach," Liz pointed out, pouring out a subtle charm trying to diffuse the situation.

*********

Tseng thought hard for a moment about Liz's proposal. She was technically right. The young woman that stood before him was a totally different from the girl he had observed the past few days. She had an implacable look in her eyes as did the other three girls, Ancients. "If you will sit down before you faint, Elizabeth," he looked pointedly at girl, whose face was the color of bone. "I will give you a brief outline."

"You mean a heavily edited outline," Liz commented easing herself onto the couch putting her foot up, and replacing the cold pack. Tseng nodded, "Very perceptive. The three of you have powers, uncanny strength, and the ability to heal, probably other skills that are unknown. One of the abilities Ketroa possess is to cleanse the planet. You three must have certainly sensed the need. There is a helicopter on the roof waiting."

*******

Rae could tell by the look on Tseng's face that he had said all he was going to say, and he expected them to get on that helicopter immediately. She couldn't sense any lies in what he said, but outside of her brother being well her brother she wasn't inclined to trust the Turks. Not even Reno knew her secret. On the other hand if the boy band clones showed up again she and Liz were in no shape to fight them again. "Lea, Liz what think you?" Rae asked. "Tell me something I didn't already know," Lea grumbled. Liz slowly shook her head, "We can't fight off the silver-haired men as we are, and I sense your paramour approaching. Best leave while we can."

Lea nodded and sighed. Rae took her good hand off of her dirk and laid it on her brother's shoulder. "Lead on, Bro; just tell me I'm doing the right thing trusting you." She looked much younger than her nineteen years. Reno patted her on the head in a vaguely comforting gesture.

"Trust me, kid you and you're friends are in good hands."


	5. Meeting the President

AN: Sorry for the long gap between chapters, to anyone who has been folowing this story. Thanks for those of you who have, for new readers of this story as well. Read on and Enjoy . Please Review, any constructive critism would be wondeful.

Tseng watched Rae and Lea as they entered helicopter; Rude carried Liz into the copter. He heard Elena swear and turned to look in the direction she was.

"Sir! It's Kadaj's gang," she hissed. Tseng caught a glimpse of Kadaj and his brothers walking into an apartment building. Elena sprinted to the door and used a brick to jam the elevator on the roof. Tseng jammed the door to the stairs with a spare piece of metal piping that was lying around. As the door was closing it took off leavening the now much harder to access roof.

"You were right," Rae told Liz after they took off watching boy-band clones wave and shout furiously as the helicopter receded from their view. Tseng rather hoped that they hadn't caught the Tahill siblings making identical rude gestures at them. "My would-be suitor was coming after all." Reno looked sharply at his sister. "You don't mean one of Kadaj's gang, yo?" he asked. "Unfortunately yes," Rae replied. Reno's eyes narrowed dangerously as his sister continued, "The one with a tazer, named Loz I think, took a good long look at me then asked for my hand in marriage on the spot."

******

"Say what!" Reno hissed angrily, knuckles going white on the joy stick and shoulders knotting with tension. Rae wished she could see the look on his face. Although by the tone in his voice, maybe it was better that she couldn't. "You heard me Bro." "If it makes you feel any better," Lea interjected, "the consensus is that he was hit off side the head with a board and that includes the rest of the boy band clones."

Reno relaxed marginally and Elena put her hand on Rae's uninjured shoulder. "You have my sympathy," she told her quietly. Rae couldn't tell if she was talking about Loz or Reno. "Um, Rae," Reno asked hesitantly, and with as much tact as he ever used "I know you complain about being single, yo, but --"

"No, Never! Lord, Gods, and minor deities no," you interrupt him. "I would never be that desperate, never. I…ugh no!"

"Oh good, I'm glad to hear you have a sane streak after all." Liz told her redheaded friend as Reno let out a sigh of relief. "I was beginning to wonder."

*******

Rufus watched as two of the Ketroa entered and Rude entered carrying a third. The one in Rude's arms ankle was swathed in an ace bandage. Rufus felt a twinge of sympathy for her as Rude set her down in a chair which he filed in the back of his mind. _Two of them are wounded from the encounter with Kadaj and his gang,_ he observed. The three young women looked concerned, and wary of him and his Turks but not hostile. The situation could be worse all told.

"Please, sit," he told the standing Ketroa. "I would rise but," he gestured with his hand at his wheelchair reveling the geostigma. As Rae and Lea seated themselves, Liz, the Ketroa with a sprained ankle, spoke. "I have to tell you this, now. We can't heal geostigma. And it hasn't been for lack of trying, believe me. I've lost too many people dear to me to the disease," grief spasmed across her face and roughened her voice for a moment.

Rufus watched her body language for any hint of lying. There was none, and her grief was real and fresh. "I can't say I'm not disappointed, but that isn't the only reason I had you watched."

"Do tell," Lea drawled coldly. Rufus was struck by the realization that they could tell truth from lies. Where this sudden insight sprung from he had no idea.

***

Rae was struck by the sight of Rufus in the wheelchair. The hairs on the back her neck prickled as she sensed the malevolent presence of the Geostigma, long before he called attention to it. Rae didn't even have to look at Liz to know that Liz's old grief was being pushed forcibly to the surface. One of the first to die had been one of her oldest friends, her first boyfriend, and the only person that any of the three girls had ever trusted enough to tell their talents. It occurred to her that Liz's inability to hide her emotions might work in their favor dealing with the former president of Shinra.

Lea tilted her head at him, "You knew about Kadaj and the rest of the brother's dim?" Her tone held a deceptive sweetness, that Rae knew could mask a sharp edge. "Wouldn't it have just been easyer to have Rae's brother tell her that there were crazy silver haired men about?"

Rufus pulled a wry face, "Mostly because we weren't completely certain that Kadaj and his gang were after you till they actually attacked. Shinra is to blame and I am to blame for the terrible state of the planet. The brothers attacked you because you three young ladies are Ketroa. Ketroa are said to be able heal damage to the planet and to cleanse it. I beg you for your help in restoring the world." ^truth^

"Oh dear," Liz said quietly. She was to only one of the group raised as Ke'et. "What ever fragmented texts that W.R.O. uncovered and translated must have been in incredibly bad shape; we aren't Ketroa. There is no such thing as a Ketroa.

"What makes you say that?" Rufus asked extremely interested.

Liz looked abashed then looked to Rae and Lea asking for confirmation _Should I say more?_ Rae shrugged and sighed, _I live in the same house as one of the Turks, bro will get me to slip up eventually. _Lea tilted her head back toward her friend. _You're a good judge of people, use your better jugement._

Liz took a deep breath and began. "Of the three human based peoples that came to this world who knows how many years ago two are gone: the Cetra, and the Ka, both of which were wiped out by the Calamity, Heaven's Dark Harbinger, Tchenatva, and the virus she unleashed," Kate continued. "The third group is the Ke'et (KEY-et); while the Ka were mostly warriors, and the Cetra were healers soul bound to the planet, the Ke'etroa or Ke'etria (KEY-et-RI-a) were both. Ria is the feminine ending and roa is the masculine one. The Ke'et aren't as physically strong as the Ka were and they don't share the Cetra's connection to the planet. Why they survived the other two is that because of their great skills as healers they were able to make themselves immune to Jenova's virus and some how lock the antibodies inside their DNA and pass them on to their children." _We're also psychically stronger than the Cetra and Ke'etria come equal to Ka'roa in strength, _Rae though under her shields. _She wasn't able to fool the Ke'etria but once before they were wise to her. Of course the fact that that one was on of Liz's ancestors isn't something the nice president needs to know._

"An impressive feat," Rufus commented. "I don't suppose any of you would know how to duplicate it."

"I wish we did," Rae picked up the question for Liz. It wasn't so like Liz to be that trusting. "As far as I can tell, after The Calamity was dealt with the surviving Ke'etria became the parents of the normal humans on the planet. They meant for the Ke'et gene and immunity to circumnavigate the gene pool. I guess they figured that by the time someone awakened the Destroyer, people able to cope with her would have been born at least, if not the whole population. If my math's right, Ke'etria like Lea and I popping up out of nowhere, should be a sign that the population's starting to recover?"

"How did you get your information?" Rufus asked. "Misinformation involving Jenova could be catastrophic." "Library," Lea said cryptically. "One very big, very old library."

"Where in the Hell's that," Reno interjected. "I think one hugeass library is something that would have been discovered by now." "Would it?" Rae shot back at her brother. "I think we stumbled onto it by either dumb blind luck or we were allowed to find the blessed thing once. And I'd put my money on door number two."

"What makes you say that?" Rufus asked. "The circumstances we found the library in," Liz replied. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you. It sounds like something out of ghost story."

Rufus sighed sounding tired, "After the past two years, it probably wouldn't be strangest true thing I've heard.

"We did warn you," Rae sighed then turned to her brother, "Reno so help me if you laugh…"

Reno smirked. "You'll do what sis?"

Before either could continue Lea commented dryly, "As interesting as it would be to watch this bit of family love play out, I think that we should probably get back on topic.

"Oh, yes, Library. Every summer for the past three years, Liz, Lea and I have gone on cross-country backpacking trips regardless of monsters. We discovered the Library on one of those trips. It was two years ago, about three days after Meteor appeared in the sky. A freak thunderstorm blew up literally out of nowhere and we were caught out in it. It may have been mid-afternoon but the sky was pitch black and wracked with thunder and lightning. Lea saw the lights of house and we sprinted through the pouring rain towards it. The thing was a massive Edwardian edifice well maintained but other than that it looked like something out of a horror movie. The door opened and we practically fell in to get out of the storm. That is where we found the library. When we left the place the three of us had the impression of spending the night but it must have been a week later because Meteor was gone. We backtracked half a day later and found a lake. On the return trip back to Midgar we passed by again and the lake was gone too. I swear the thing must be shielded down to a nicety and moves."

"That isn't the whole story," Rufus stated. "Nope, it isn't," Rae replied. "But since you aren't telling us the full story either so I don't feel too sorry for you." She felt Liz's power spike sharply as she healed her ankle.

****

Movement caught Rufus Shinra's: as Rae was speaking, Liz's hair rose, and began to float slighly. No sooner than this had happened Rae's hair did the same thing. "What did you two just do," he demanded sharply as sounds from outside cut him short. The lock on the broke with a resounding crack and Kadaj strode in. He surveyed the room and smiled. "Mr. President, how kind, you've assembled all the people I want to talk to in one room."


	6. Family Feud

Rae felt the boy-band clones closing in and willed the wound on her arm to close. She knew that the wound would scar with out even looking at it. She healed well, and functionally there was no difference but she just couldn't get anything to heal with out a mark. Just in time, because Kadaj kicked in the door and waltzed in.

"Mr. President, how kind, you've assembled all the people I want to talk to in one room." He smirked as she drew her dirks. "Why so hostile?" he asked without drawing his sword. "All we want to do is find our mother. What is so wrong with that?"

"Why do you persist in calling Tchenatva mother?" Liz asked Kadaj totally exasperated. "The Calamity from the Skies, Heaven's Dark Harbinger, Jenova, She didn't bear you, She didn't foster you, and She has no love for you or anyone. All you three are is pawns to Her. She's been trying to kill her children and their descendents for well past 5000 years." Liz stood glave at ready scowling fiercely at the brothers.

Kadaj smirked knowingly at her, "And you would know wouldn't you? Your one of them, aren't you?" His voice took on a note of mingled anger and sorrow "So what if it's true we've never met mother. I can feel her, sense her. I would do anything to please her." Then he brightened, "But you three, you could help us find Mother, find her cells, and then my brothers and I can be whole again. But no you won't help us, your too proud" he accused.

"No we can't," Rae told Kadaj flatly. "Not won't, although that'd be true if we could, we can't the point is moot." She calculated the distance to the door, wondering if the Turks were up to fighting these three.

"Have you ever seen the Star Wars movies?" Lea asked Kadaj. He looked surprised by the seeming nonsequiter. "Yes, but what dose that have to do with this?" he snapped. "You see," Michelle replied, "Long ago, before the Humans, Cetra, Ka Roa, and Ke'et found this planet a Ke'etria decided she wanted to become immortal. She ended up plugging herself into the Dark Side of the Force and pulled an Anakin Skywalker. That is the...ah...lady you call 'Mother'."

"She nearly wiped the Ke'et out completely," Liz added darkly. "The Acursed one can't afford to let Ke'etria find her, someone might miraculously seceded in destroying. She'll live until She's killed. And while we aren't that strong, presumably there are those who can floating around the universe somewhere." Kadaj only smiled.

"I thought so," he replied smugly. "Only tell me where Big brother's daughter is."

"You do know that Cloud doesn't have any kids of his own, yo," Reno interjected. "Yet that is." "I wasn't talking to you and I wasn't talking about Cloud!" Kadaj snapped. "Sephiroth fathered a daughter. She can help us find Mother, even if her mother was an enemy. After all, Mother's blood flows in her veins, from both sides."

"Are you certain of this?" Rufus asked voice deceptively mild. "The Shinra's records don't show him ever being married, or siring any bastards." "Him have a kid," The room watched as Reno freaked out. "Good God, he was the only man in the company that Scarlet didn't even try to seduce, yo." Kadaj looked at Rae expectantly.

"What in the blazes are you looking at me for? I've never even met the man. How would I know about his personal life?" Rae replied to the look after a significant pause. Her gut sank as look of something she couldn't quite place crossed Liz's features. _Oh no, surely not. Please, please don't do anything stupid Liz. _Before Rae could send a warning Liz threw herself at Kadaj, summoning her glave out of thin air. _You just had to do something stupid Liz._ Howling an ancient Ke'et battle cry Rae charged Kadaj knocking the wind out of him with a good sharp elbow to the ribs while Lea followed in tow. The three of Ke'etria were out the door and had leapt the balcony to the ground below before he had a chance to draw his sword. Lea drop kicked an unsuspecting Yazoo in the head stuning him as she and Liz jacked his bike. Rae landed on Kadaj's and too off after them. Loz kicked his bike to life and gave chase. In the process he left his swearing brothers in the dust.

"Marry Me," Loz called out to Rae. "I mean give us back the bikes!" He hastily amended as he adjusted the knobs on his tazer and prongs shot out the back. _Dear sweet and blessed Goddess and Lord Consort I hope that idiot is just stupid and not my bond!_ _'I'll draw him off, it's me he'd rather chase.'_ Rae sent to Liz and Lea, _'I'll meet you at Seventh Heaven once I lose this loser._' Then She pealed off on the left hand path through the gorge her persistent suitor trailing in herr wake.

'_See you at Seventh Heaven,'_ Lea thought at her friend.

_'Goddess bless and keep you safe,'_ Liz sent as Rae sped out of sight with Loz in hot pursuit.

*****

Praying to the gods Rae popped a wheelie and descended into the narrow gorge up a head. "Ha, that ought to lose him," She muttered triumphantly. From above and behind she heard the roar of an engine revving up. "Oh shit," she moaned as she saw Loz, bike and all, sail over her head and land in front of her. Unfortunately the gorge is too small to turn around in. Suddenly he disappeared from his bike, and Rae leapt onto his pushing the engine to top speed.

"Oh, no, you don't," he cried from behind her. She looked behind her as she struggled to control the bike just in time to see him jump on back onto the bike he had just vacated and feel the shock from his tazer. Pain flooded her body, to the point that she couldn't move, couldn't think. She didn't feel Loz's arms grabing her as he jumped off the bike just before the two motorcycles careened into one another. Pain blinded Rae as he zapped her again for good measure. You heard Loz's cell phone go off. "Yeah, got the girl and the bike…" His voice trailed off as Rae slipped into oblivion.

She woke in a small dark room, chained to a wall. Her ankles were manacled with heavy chains and tethered to the floor. She sat on the floor, arms pulled high above her head. As Rae's eyes adjusted she realized the room was dark because the sun had just set and almost all the light came from a fire place. The little east facing window let more light out than in. The room was sparse; all it held was a table with a pitcher and a stemmed glass on it. She shifted clanking as she tried in vain to either pull the chains out of the wall or at least find a more comfortable position. When both failed she eyed the water with longing.

"So the your awake now," Yazoo drawled. He stepped out of the shadows cast by the fire. "Brothers! Sleeping Beauty's awake!" he called out the door. He nodded contemptuously at you as Kadaj strode into the room, and Loz walked out of the shadows. "Don't cry Loz," he prodded. "She's fine." "I'm not crying, Yazoo, you bastard," Loz snarled. "So, Sleeping Beauty," Kadaj remarked conversationally. "How was your rest?" You noticed he looked like the cat that ate the canary.

"I slept like a log," you reply voice rough with thirst. "I wonder why?" Rae added voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, how thoughtless of me," Kadaj said as he pored water into the large, finely etched, silver goblet. "You must be thirsty," he strode across the room holding the goblet in both hands. He knelt in front of her seemingly unaware that he was sitting on her legs in a very compromising position. "Here, drink this," he offered, taking a slow sip and swallowing to prove the water wasn't poisoned then putting the cup to your lips.

"I don't trust you," she told him looking him in his cat slit eyes. "There are things that you three are oblivious to that would influence me." Kadaj only laughed, "The water is normal, nothing has been done to it." _Truth _"And the cup?" Rae asked to cover all the bases fairly certain that they were unaware of the Ke'et ability to sense lies. "No poison, no, ah, influences." _Truth_ With that Rae's thirst won out and she threw caution to the wind, draining the goblet in one long continuous swallow. The water was just that, plain old water and it had never tasted so good. Kadaj rose and set the cup on the table. "Rae, Rae, Rae," he sighed. "You're such a bundle of contradictions; first you say you don't trust me then you drink from my hands without anything but my word to reassure you. Tell me why," he half pleaded, half demanded.

Rae look at him thoughtfully and then told him part of the truth. "I've had lots of experience in detecting bull shit."

"So has President Shinra and I fooled him." Kadaj shot back. _I find that unlikely,_ _Rufus Shinra is devious enough to not show he detected a lie until the best time to play his hand._ Out loud Rae just laughed "I don't doubt it, but Rufus Shinra didn't grow up

with Reno as his big brother. I learned from an early age to spot a straight faced lie."

"Reno," Loz said slowly as his brothers looked him like he had lost his few remaining marbles. "I thought that red-headed Turk looked familiar. If Rae marries me that would make him my brother. I don't want a Turk for a Brother. But I want to marry Rae. Arrgh!!"

After an uncomfortable pregnant silence Yazoo turned to Kadaj and said impatiently "Kadaj we didn't bring her here to make small talk." "Yes, please do tell," Rae added sarcasticly, "I'm about to die of curiosity."

Kadaj smiled one of his disquieting beatific grins. "You see we wanted to give you three choices, there is no fourth." "Being," you prompt exasperation coloring your voice. "Myself, Yazoo, or Loz, we aren't going to let you chose the sword. You're too valuable for that."

"What are you talking about?" Rae demand confused and annoyed. Kadaj only set the empty goblet down beside her and kissed her full flush on the lips all business. "We want you bound to one of us so you can't hurt Mother," Kadaj explained with mock patience after he broke the kiss. "Make your choice." Rae blanched and rapidly began to shake her head, speechless.

"I guess we'll just have to choose for you, then," Yazoo replied.

"No," Rae yelped trying to pull the chains off the wall. No way in Hell was she going to let them touch her.

"Then choose," Kadaj replied in a perfectly reasonable tone of voice, as he stood up, "because you can't detach the chains from the wall."

_Ok Rae, think, you need to buy yourself time, how can I do that._ "How do you expect me to make that kind of choice stone cold sober?!" she demanded. "You three get drunk with me and when I'm well oiled enough to be pragmatic I'll choose." Rae was struck with inspiration; hopefully all her years of raiding her brother's liquor cabinet would finally pay off.

The boy band clones put their heads together and whispered out of your ear shot. A minuet later when the conference broke Kadaj nodded at her. "Have it your way," he told her as he unfastened the chains from her wrists and released tether on the ankle chains from the floor. Loz picked Rae up bridal style and Yazoo grabbed the tether to prevent her from making a bid for freedom. Not that she could have run very fast with how closely her ankles were chained. Loz settled her a spair kitchen chair while Kadaj attached the tether to the cast iron stove. She noticed her dirks out of the corner of her eye just out of lunging distance. Yazoo and Loz took their seats while Kadaj brought four sake cups and many bottles of sake. Kadaj poured all the equal sized set full to the brim and set one in front of you himself and his brothers. "Ladies first," he told Rae. She picked up her dish and raised it in mocking salute. "Kampai," Rae replied in the traditional Wutan salute before downing the cup. The Brothers followed suite.

*****

"Yo, partner, you think Rae's ok?" a nervous Reno asked Rude. Reno took a look at his watch five minuts after three in the mourning.

"After this many hours maybe not," Rude replied as they approached the door stronghold. Much as he would have liked to reassure his partner both of them had been Turks to long to be overly optimistic

"Na, she's fine they aren't mad scientists, yo. Rae can deal with any thing as long as it ain't a mad scientist, or our old bastard and he's dead" Reno rambled. Rude looked worriedly at Reno. After a moment's pause Reno snarled savagely, "If they did any thing to my sister, I swear I'll castrate all three of them."

"Uh, you do that partner," Rude said hesitantly as they approached the Cetra house thing that the Brothers were using as a base. Stealthly they entered the house. It was completely dark except for one room.

Rude clamped a hand over Reno's mouth and motined for scilencd as soon as he saw what was going on in the kitchen. Sake bottles were strewn around the room like fallen soldiers in the aftermath of a battlefield. Loz and Kadaj slumped over chairs and the table. Yazoo sat with his back to the doorway. With exaggerated care he picked up his sake cup. He managed to get it halfway to his lips before he fell side ways out of his chair, the cup sliping out of his fingers. Reno walked in and prodded Yazoo with his foot. Yazoo didn't stir. "Bro!" Rae chirped happily. "I knewed yoush come ta save me!"

"She's sloshed," Rude muttered as Reno picked the locks on Rae's manacles. "No, she's smashed, yo," Reno corrected. "'m not. I swear to drunk I'm not God," Rae protested as she hit Loz off side the head with a sake bottle as he began to stir. Rude spotted Rae's dirks and grabbed them as Reno picked up his sister, who cuddled into his arms and flung her arms around his neck. "You're right, partner, she is smashed."

Half way down the road to the helicopter Vincent stepped out of the underbrush. "I'll take her to Cid and the Highwind. She'll be safer there." Rude nodded. "Affirmative," he answered. He had given Rae her dirks back before she passed out and Reno gave her to him to carry. "Take care of my sister, yo," he told Vincent as he took the unconscious Rae from Rude's arms. Vincent nodded and disappeared in a flash of red cape.


	7. Seventh Heaven

****

"Go where?!" Lea yelled back to Liz. "You heard me," Liz shouted over the wind as the bike roared down the game trail. "Right up that tree. Let's see them get it out quickly," she laughed with devilish glee. "We can get home by Chocobo."

*****

Liz was stunned to see her younger cousin Kira sitting in Seventh Heaven sketch book in hand and a fife tucked into the turquoise sash she was using as a belt. Relief was written on Kira's face when she saw cousin and her friend. _'Whoa,'_ Lea thought when she saw the kid who accompanied the teams to matches as the semi-official mascot. _She can't be Sephiroth's kid, can she_?

"Kira, what are you doing here? Why did you cut your hair?" Liz snapped. "And why are you wearing my shirt?" The shirt in question was royal blue with a yoke collar, in pirate or medieval style. Kira grinned sheepishly. She was a pretty kid tall with slim athletic build, a narrow face, a medium tan, and violet eyes that glowed faintly. Her dark brown hair was a lustrous sable and cut so that while it was long in the front it was short in the back, like she had pulled it back into a low tail and attacked it with scissors.

"Well, you weren't wearing it," Kira pointed out, sketching feverishly away without looking up. She sounded oddly strained.

"You could at least ask," Liz told her, exasperated.

"Next time I will," Kira reassured her shakily. "I cut my hair because the nightmare was looking for a girl and I figured with short hair I might look like a boy, since I haven't filled out yet. I'm here because I felt something happen to Rae and Mama and two other ladies told me to come here. The lady in the pink dress said that I would be safe with Cloud and Tifa until you and Lea got here. Mama said something about her shields going as I come into my own. What was she talking about?" Kira asked. Then she shivered "Why dose the one who haunts my dreams look like mom and me? I can only keep the Dark ones out of my mind by sketching or playing the fife. The shields Mama taught me to make don't work." The longer she continued the shakier she got.

"Aw crud," Lea muttered and threw a mental shield over Kira. She blanched as she felt her shield shake under a vicious attack. Kira stopped sketching and shot Lea a look of gratitude as she sprang up and hugged the elder girl. Just then Tifa walked into the room.

"Lea! Are you alright?!" Tifa asked concern written on her face. "Do you need me to call your mom?"

"Don't!" Michelle yelped. "I'm fine. Really."

"Tifa," Liz interjected quickly, "do you know any sacred or hallowed ground around here. It's really important, I don't have time to explain."

"Um, there's the church in the sector five slums. Why do you ask?" she called as Liz, Kira and Lea took off out the door. "It's a looong story, coach! Thanks!!" Lea replied as the Chocobo galloped off. "We'll tell you all about it when we get back!! If you see Rae, please tell her where we went!"

As soon as the Chocobo skidded to a halt in front of the church Kira sprinted in the building. Ignoring the camping gear and sealed box she stopped in the flowers growing in the hole in the floorboards a fraction before Michelle dropped the shield around her. She laughed with delight, "I'm not under attack! They can't get into my head here."

"Thank all the gods that are," Liz sighed as she supported a wilted Lea their foot steps disturbing the quiet of the church. Michelle slumped down beside a pillar as Liz eased her down.

"Ok I'm going to sleep now," Lea said vaguely. "Wake me up when the lesson's done or more baddies arrive. Oh my aching cabeza," she muttered as she slipped into a deep healing sleep.

"You said Keyala (KEY-a-la) taught you how to shield?" Liz asked her younger second-cousin.

"Yeah, before we came to the village," Kira replied. "It's the earliest memory I have of Mama, teaching me to ground and center to make the foundation for a shield. But I can't keep the nightmare voice out of my head. And when I ground and center it only gets worse." She stopped suddenly and pointed behind her cousin. Kate heard foot steeps and spun around summoning and bringing her glave to bear, fearing the worst. She relaxed marginally when Rufus rolled into the room flanked by Tseng and Elena. "How did you find us?" Liz asked flatly.

Rufus smiled slightly, "You have a rather distinctive Golden Chocobo illegally parked outside."

*****

Rufus studied the younger girl standing behind Liz. Her face shape and bone structure were similar Sephiroth's and her violet eyes glowed but her coloring and demeanor couldn't be different. She laughed at his comment about the Chocobo, an unguarded, musical laugh, devoid of the derision and cruelty that had marked Sephiroth's. _If she is Sephiroth's child she's nothing like him, thank God,_ he decided. He watched the beginnings of a smile twitch at the corners of Liz's mouth before chagrin over took her features. "How careless of me," she replied a flicker of humor showing. "Next time I'll look for a parking space."

"I assume that the young lady standing next to you is the reason you left the Healing Lodge in such a spectacular manner," Rufus said dryly. He was dismayed to see Liz's guard go right back up. "Please," he entreated, "I'm not your enemy. If anything I want to see you and the rest of the Ke'et safe. Forgive me if I'm making an unwelcome assumption but if your relative is Sephiroth's child, then it's doubly imperative."

The girl spoke softly, "He's telling the truth." Liz's expression softened a little. "I know, I sense it too," she sighed. "He isn't the enemy anymore." As Liz replaced her glave in its hanger, Rufus felt a twinge of something, a flicker of connection, as he wheeled forward. "Rufus Shinra, This is my second cousin and adopted sister, Kira Damathrua. She has the mako glow because her mother fell in the Lifestream during the first trimester. I have to teach Kira the other way mentally shield herself, so the Calamity and her minion's can't invade her head. I don't think the boy band clones have that ability, but this should make her imposable for them to sense. Forgive me but I to do this immediately." Rufus nodded in understanding. If the family was somehow descended from Jenova, they had to have some mechanism for remaining sane.

"Boy band clones!" Elena blurted out, shocked earning her a reproachful glance from Tseng. "Is that what you call Kadaj's gang?" Liz nodded and laughed at the look on her face. Her laugh was easy and good natured. "Well that is what the three of them look like. Oh, don't look so horrified we don't call them that to their faces."

As she turned to Kira her violet eyes changed to the color of molten sliver. As Rufus and the Turks watched in fascination, Kira took a few deep breaths then followed suite. "Kira can you see the earth energies in here?" Kira nodded. "Good," her cousin told her. "Describe them to me."

"They're green like healthy plants in here. Outside they look like they're sick and wilted. Is that because of the Mako, or the Calamity?" Kira asked curiously. Rufus winced at the blunt question.

"Both," Liz replied curtly. "What ever you do don't ever try to ground yourself when the earth energy looks or feels sick. This church is one of maybe four or five places left in the world that Jenova can't extend her reach into mentally. That's why grounding and centering didn't help you. Now look at me and Michelle. What do you see?" Kira's eyes widened in wonder as she scanned the room, "Your energy is silver. I knew that it was supposed to be but it looks so bright and pretty."

Liz smiled warmly, "That's good to know. Now turn your gaze inward, you have the same type of energy inside of you. Follow the trace of that energy to where it connects with Lea's and mine. I want you to ground into that." Kira's eyes unfocused and the air in the room swirled. Rufus felt the pain form the geostigma ease momentarily, Tseng and Elena tensed as their stand up on end, and Liz snored loudly.

When Kira opened her eyes they were back to glowing violet; Rufus couldn't bring himself to think of the eerie SOLDIER-like glow as normal. Liz snorted smugly molten silver evaporating from her irises, "Kira, the only way that shield is going to be broken is if Jenova's pawns get their hands on you."

"Speaking of which," Rufus said grimly. "I have some very bad news in that department. The reason I came here was the fact that Kadaj's gang has captured Rae and taken her to their base in the Forgotten Capital. Kadaj called me he said something about releasing her after she was safely bonded to one of them. I was hoping that you know what that means." Liz blanched. "I told you I felt something to Rae," Kira told her under her breath.

Liz sighed, "Please bear with my long explanation. If I don't start at the beginning this isn't going to make sense. What makes Ke'etria capable of being so strong is that we are channels. We can channel energy and can use great power from an outside source, like the planet or the continuum--in theory anyways. It's possible to completely fry yourself if you go overboard. The last person to have the full training was my cousin Keyala, Kira's mother. She died when I was twelve, before she managed to teach me more than how to shield my mind, the bare minimum for sanity. And as far as the library in the mansion for all its wealth of knowledge and information there wasn't a single blessed instruction manual in the place, at least not in a language I could read. To be able have children, Ke'et have to bond, and not by doing um, that," she blushed. "You bond by linking minds and dropping all your shields, this establishes a permanent mental link between the two people. And two specific people, if you can't find that specific person you can't bond to anyone. No physical contact required necessarily. Er for the bond to form. Although it usually forms or gets cemented by um… doing, that." Rufus decided not to press her further, Liz's coloring was quickly passing boiled lobster. Her innocence was refreshing.

"Just how strong of a link are we talking about," Elena asked. "Very," Kira replied soberly. "Mama says that if Jenova hadn't interfered Sephiroth would have keeled over dead when he killed her." Kira noticed the odd looks she was getting then added with a smirk, "I can see ghosts constantly, but Lea, Rae and Liz can't not with out a lot of concentration. It's supposed to be a rare talent." She cocked her head to the side listening to silence. "Aris recommends going to the Highwind. If that's the case I guess we need Lea to call her Uncle Cid."


	8. Back to the Remedy

Rae woke up with a splitting headache and a sour stomach, in a dim room. As she cautiously cracked one eyelid she saw Liz sitting next to her bedside. "Ye Gods, what a party," Rae muttered. "How much did I drink last night?" Slowly her memories of the night before returned to her.

Liz handed her friend a thing of headache powder and a bottle of electrolyte sports drink. "I wasn't there but apparently it was enough to drink three Remnants under the table. We're on the Seira, Lea's uncle's new airship. Lea managed to sweet talk her uncle into letting us stay here until the boy band clones can be defeated. He's gathering up and I quote 'the old gang so we can beat the kidnapping bastard son's of bitches.' It looks like they've been taking every kid with geostigma to their base to form some sort of army."

Rae laughed darkly, wincing at the twinge in her head that it created. "So we're in Shinra protective custody?" She accelerated the absorption of the fluid and the medicine into her tissues and relaxed a bit as the headache lessened. She also downed a bottle of water to be on the safe side.

"No we're in the protective custody of the second AVALANCHE, although they've technically disbanded and were trying to get on with there lives. Their perfectly prepared to defend us from Shinra if the need arises and their perfectly capable of doing so. Sephiroth was the one who summoned Meteor two years ago, and these are the folks that stopped him."

"The ones who were posting flyers and blowing up reactors," Rae's lips twitched in dark humor. "The one's Shinra blamed for the plate dropping?" There were downsides to living with a Turk and being psychically inclined, sometimes she picked up on when the company did something underhanded and blamed someone else for it just from Reno's general state of mind and or health. Since her brother became her guardian at age twelve Rae lost any faith she had in the company. She daily thanked the God and Goddess that her brother never caught on to the fact that when her telepathy came online she ended up spending an entire week in his head.

"Yeah," Liz confirmed, "Not the original bunch of crazies that your dad got involved with. Turns out that Tiffa and her boyfriend, Cloud, were a part of the group. So was Marlene's dad, big guy by the name of Barrett, the leader. From the sounds of things, it's about to go down big time." She stood up. "We should probably join the rest of the people in the bridge. If there's time Cid will probably give you a grand tour of the ship."

Rae grinned as she hopped out of the bunk, "I wouldn't miss that for the world. Maybe if I impress him enough I'll be able to talk him into taking me on as a disciple. I've always wanted to work on planes and fly them."

"Dazzle him with your knowledge of mechanics and engines," Liz suggested as they stepped out of the cabin. "Although, you're more likely to learn to cussing, trying to convince him."

*****

Cid swiftly rebuffed Rae's attempts to get him to take her on as a student until he entered the engine room. There Rae's enthusiastic knowledge and highly intelligent questions mixed with a bit of shameless ego stroking won her a place as a lesser minion on ship and in the shop. Then there was no time the Ke'et were left behind with the ship's crew as AVLANCHE and the Captain went to fight the Bahamut. The watched from the bridge as Cloud defeated Sephiroth and helped bear his injured body back to Aris's pool.

Rae breathed out a sigh of relief as the last of the children splash out of the pool. Standing in the old church she felt a sense of peace permeate her to her bones. "I'm glad some cure was found," she murmured.

"So am I, but we should be able to heal Geostigma," Liz pointed out. "We can feel that potential but all of the attempts you, me, or Lea ever made came to nothing. All we did was drain our energy to the dregs, while we flailed around ineffectively at it."

"Let's face it we need a teacher," Lea sighed. "One who, no offense Liz, has the full training." Kira nodded in silent agreement.

As the last drop of water from the splash hit the pool the four girls heard the voice of Aris: "Cleansing the planet is in the hands of you four now. Don't worry I'll send you a teacher."


End file.
